WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Nobody Gets Left Behind
When you trip and fall…
While we watched and saw all the big five in the Serengeti and had moments of watching lions, leopards, and Cheetahs on the move, there were more situations seemingly unimpressive that still remained in my memory.
It was 2015 when I went on a safari in the world’s most famous animal paradise. We were slowly cruising across the plains watching zebra and wildebeest herds mixing up and switching positions in the crowds.
It wasn’t the largest crossing ever but a few hundred animals were running across the road just in front of us. Dust was covering the air and sounds were filled with animal noises.
It’s when I noticed the young wildebeest stumbling on the road. It fell right there. Its mother had stopped immediately. Not much would have been needed for the rest to run over the little one.
But mom stopped. She stopped and waited for the young one to get back on her feet.
It was such an intense situation. More wildebeest were running across. Birds flying high and dust whirling over the scene.
The young wildebeest seemed very insecure on the little legs. It might have been born just days prior to this move. But here in the wilds of the Serengeti, you don’t have time to slowly grow. You need to be able to run from the moment you are born.
Too many predators linger around watching and waiting for situations like this one.
Another wildebeest mom runs past with her young one. And our little one slowly turns its body and moves in the direction of the herd.
Most of the herd has gone passed us by now.
And finally, the little one reaches the high grass and jumps again.
The mother and her offspring are reunited with the herd. It’s where safety is reached in numbers.
Off they go. Into the tall grassland and across the vastness of the Serengeti.
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